Page 81 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“I’m never sure if I should knock or just come in. It’s an inn, but it’s your house, but it’s… Oh, Carlisle, what are you doing here?” He stopped in his tracks and looked up at me.

“Miles is the father of my son,” Lydia said.

The mayor narrowed his gaze at her, and then at me.

I held up my hands, palms out. “She didn’t know who I was. I failed to disclose that piece of information.”

“That sounds like a long story,” Dan said.

“A long story for another day,” I admitted.

“Once I heard from Evie that you had your baby, I thought I’d come and check on you.”

“We’re doing just fine. How’s everybody else holding up this morning?” Lydia asked.

“We’re trying to get the roads cleared,” Dan said. "I could use some more volunteers.” He looked at me.

I opened my mouth, about to explain I was needed for the baby, but then Evie cut me off before I managed to say anything.

“Why don’t you go help, Miles? I’m here, and I can help Lydia with the baby. It’ll be good for you to get to know some of the people of Brookdale.”

I didn’t miss the sharpness in her tone or her point.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, Lydia?” I asked.

There was a tightness around her eyes that looked like worry. Or maybe that was her being very tired. “What do you think?” she asked.

“I think I should go help,” I said.

She nodded.

As soon as I was properly dressed for the weather, I followed Mayor Dan out and into a large pickup truck with a snow plow attachment to the front.

“Is this the city snowplow?” I asked.

“We have an official plow. This is one of our backup vehicles,” he said.

“It looks like a handy thing to have on a day like today,” I said as I climbed into the truck.

“I’m surprised you’re willing to come with me,” Dan said.

“Because of the whole buyout situation?” I asked.

He gave me a curt nod.

“I like Brookdale,” I admitted. “I’ve come to really appreciate the town, its historical value, and the integrity of its people. I’d stilllike to put a resort in here, but the way I was going forward with that project isn’t going to work out. If there were a way I could help to bolster this town’s economy, I would, but I’m not sure what that looks like right now.”

“What are your feelings on restoring old properties?” the mayor asked.

“Are you talking about the inn?” I asked. “Lydia has plans, and crazy as it might sound, I’m here to support those plans. I think she’s right. In five to ten years, she could really turn Sweet Mountain Inn into a showpiece of a place. If she lets me invest in her property, maybe I can help her do that a little sooner than the timeline she’s worked out.”

“I was thinking of something not quite so old and potentially much more rundown.”

I lifted my brows and glanced at him out of the side of my eye.

“Oh, yeah? What do you have in mind?”

“You’ve heard of those old resorts, all-inclusive family resorts from the fifties and the sixties? They’re scattered throughout these mountains,” Dan said. “Well, there is an abandoned one of those facilities not too far from here that you might consider taking a look at.”

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